BLISSFUL BARUM FOR BISS/WOODMAN

The Barum Rally attracted a modest entry of 22 Crews to this Central Southern/South-eastern Road Rally and ASWMC Open and Novice Championships round. The route of 120 miles in the lanes of Exmoor, North Devon and West Somerset had 29 controls and a limited number of passages. There were 5 crews in the Masters category with the scratch pairing of 'Chin' with ASWMC regular Bob Jones. Next were Darren Dixon and Pete Barnard (contesting both championships), at 3 Steve Cole/Bob Blows, then Andy and Nigel Hewitt followed by Mike Biss/Cath Woodman at the favoured 5 spot - this after recent success on both Sevenoaks and Hart MC's events.

There were 10 crews filling the Expert class with Scott Jonas and Andy Ballantyne, and heading a strong group from Wessex MC were Paul Swindells/Andy Coshan. Bournemouth crew of Rob and Graham Dance - the only other pairing contesting both championships, then Alan Sayers/Bob Stokoe at 12.

Bob Wisniewski/Paul Lettington from Wessex MC, Clive and Verity Anstey from Devizes and the homegrown duo of Ben and Jason Byrom headed the 6 Novices.

Conditions were mild and dry and the threat of rain did not materialise, so penalties were slow in coming but unaccountably novices Hickman/Lodder dropped a minute at TC2 and Dixon/Barnard a minute at TC3. The difficult route round Twitchen tempted Experts Ware/Hayes to Wrong Approach and other novice crews struggled with similar penalties here and the white at Western Common cost a few crews with punctures. The route progressed to map 180 using roads round North Molton including the difficult junction at Northland Cross but only one crew collecting a penalty here.

At petrol, 4 of the Masters were clean, as were 6 Experts and only Ben and Jason Byrom in the Novices. The route then moved back on to map 181 and the roads to the south of the A.361 then to the north of Stoodleigh - Jonas/Ballantyne losing 2 and Rob and Graham Dance losing 1 at TC23. Still the front runners were clean but the tightening route and difficult lanes in the Exe Valley with the infamous Cove junction generated penalties through the field.

These came at TC's 25 and 27 - Dixon/Barnard and Cole/Blows on similar points followed by Hewitt/Hewitt then 'Chin'/Jones all succumbing - but by the narrowest of margins. However, Mike Biss/Cath Woodman came through unscathed and by the final TC had kept their clean sheet and were overall winners. Steve Cole/Bob Blows were first Masters followed by Andy and Nigel Hewitt. Scott Jonas/Andy Ballantyne redeemed themselves through these sections to finish first Experts but were pressed hard by Alan Sayers/Bob Stokoe. Had it not been for an earlier WA Sanders/Crocker would have taken the Novice class but Clive and Verity Anstey produced good performances here, coming in as first Novice with second Novice - NDMC's own Ben and Jason Byrom.

Derek Drayton